Chocolate Kisses
by KStar
Summary: Ino decides you can't stop loving someone even if he hurts you. Oneshot. Read and review.


Title: **Chocolate Kisses  
**Author: KStar  
Pairing: Ino/Sasuke (one-sided) with hints of Naru/Sasu/Saku and brotherly Sasu/Ita  
Fandom: Naruto  
30kisses theme: #23, Candy  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
A/N: This theme was kinda hard to fit into the realm of Sasu/Ino so if they are kind of OOC by then end of the fic then sorry.

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_"I thought that by telling myself and everyone else that I hated you. That sooner or later I would come to believe it. But I now realize that by lying, it makes me want you even more."_  
-Anonymous

Sasuke eyed the carefully wrapped bag hesitantly, attempting not to shirk away from the crinkled black and red tissue paper tied with red string. He stared at the small package a moment before lifting his wary obsidian eyes to the giver of the gift. Ino merely huffed and said, "Well, Sasuke-kun? Are you going to take it or not?"

Her impatience surprised him; three years ago, she certainly would not have been this forceful, this cold, to him. Then again, a lot of things had changed since he had seen her last. When he finally regained his voice, he asked, "…What is it?"

The blonde kunoichi smiled. "It's candy, silly," she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She thrust the gift out to him again.

"…why?" Sasuke said, still unable to form any real coherent thoughts. Any minute now he expected Naruto or an ANBU unit to leap out and tackle him for putting his guard down. Either that or this had to be some weird dream; maybe Kabuto had spiked his drink again. He made a mental note to kick the medic-nin's ass next time he saw him.

Ino gave him an annoyed look. "For Valentine's Day, of course," she answered, reaching forward to grasp the other shinobi's wrist. Sasuke snapped back to the present, and shifted backward before she could get a secure hold. Growling, Ino put her hands on her hips. "Sasuke-kun!" she whined. "What's your problem? It's not like it's poisoned or anything!"

Sasuke just gazed at her, suspicion swimming in his now crimson orbs. "It is nowhere near Valentine's Day," he hissed, fingers itching to use the chidori.

"Well, I didn't exactly see you on Valentine's Day, now did I?" his companion demanded with an exaggerated eye roll.

"…no," Sasuke said slowly, wondering where this conversation was heading. For some inexplicable reason, he felt on odd sting in his heart at her words.

Ino watched her former crush, trying to analyze his behavior. She was an expert on the human mind, and she could tell her action had certainly thrown him for a loop. She also noticed how nervous he was, the way his eyes darted about and his fingers twitched. Sighing, she reached over and attempted to take his wrist again. This time he didn't leap away, but he did tense. Pulling him close, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Believe me, Sasuke-kun; if anyone else were here, they would have come out by now. It's just me." Then, she proceeded to drag him over to a booth in the tavern to give them more privacy.

However, Ino's words did nothing to calm the Uchiha down. He did not release his Sharingan, and his Heaven seal was beginning to itch uncomfortably. Sensing the boy's lingering discomfort, Ino frowned and leaned forward. "Sasuke-kun?" she questioned gently. "Is Orochimaru nearby?"

This seemed to snap the avenger back to reality, and he looked at Ino with serious eyes. "No," he muttered before frowning as well. "Well, maybe. I don't think he knows you are here yet."

Ino nodded and let out the worried breath she had been holding. The last thing she needed was to run into the snake bastard, as Naruto hatefully called him. "Then what is bothering you?" she asked.

Sasuke scowled, and Ino thought he looked rather adorable…or he would have if his eyes weren't the color of fresh blood. "You are," he snarled. "What are you doing here, Ino? Shouldn't you be back in the Leaf?"  
"I'm on a mission," the kunoichi fired back. "Happening on you was just a perk."

Sasuke stiffened once more. "Are...?"

"No," Ino interpreted from his reaction. "Like I said, it's just us. Shikamaru is in the Hidden Sand Village, and you don't have to worry about Chouji happening in on us. I left him with our other temporary teammate at some barbeque place. Trust me; they'll be there for hours."

The avenger fell silent, fingers flitting about his left shoulder. Ino thought he had certainly gotten twitchier since the last time she had seen him. It was an acute sign of nerves, and Ino had to wonder how much Sasuke had really changed because the old Sasuke she knew, the number one rookie genin and Konoha's little golden child, certainly wouldn't have acted so uneasy. Just what had living in Oto done to her Uchiha?

Sighing, Ino set the wrapped candy on the table and fiddled with the string. Sasuke stared at her movements with guarded eyes. "We might as well break into this, huh?" the blonde kunoichi chirped with a large smile. "I mean, if it's okay with you, that is…" The boy said nothing so Ino took that as an affirmation. The tissue paper fell away, revealing dozens of little chocolate drops. "I'm on a diet and all, but feel free to eat as many as you want. They're delicious!" she beamed.

Sasuke stared hard at the chocolate morsels. Then, he raised his crimson orbs, the three tomoe spinning rapidly. "I am _not_ coming back to Konoha," he hissed. "How many times do I have to tell you idiots that before it sinks in?"

Ino started. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she looked away, eyes roaming the bar. "I didn't come here to tell you to come back to the Leaf Village, Sasuke," she admitted finally, dropping the customary –kun from his name. When she glanced back at him and wavering blue met dangerous red, she murmured, "Believe me. If Sakura and Naruto couldn't convince you to come home, then what chance do I have?" It was hard to admit that, but it was the truth. Ino had never stood a chance with Sasuke, not with a certain pink-haired medic-nin and loudmouth Hokage-to-be in her way.

Team Seven's former third teammate eased back, surprised at the sincerity in the girl's eyes. She really had changed. Sighing, he glanced back down at the candy indifferently. "What are they?" he mumbled with a gesture to the "Valentine's Day" treat.

Ino's cerulean eyes followed his gaze, and she picked one of the chocolates up with a delicate hand. "These are kisses," she explained quietly.

"…kisses?" the Uchiha questioned, startled once more. He eyed them in a revolting manner.

"Chocolate kisses," Ino nodded. "They're actually quite good…if you like chocolate and all." The blonde realized she didn't even know if Sasuke _liked_ chocolate. She had never seen him eat it before. Popping the savory candy into her mouth, Ino let the kiss melt in her mouth. Screw her diet; she suddenly didn't feel all that weight conscious at the moment.

Sasuke watched Ino eat the "kiss." Vaguely he wondered why he hadn't left; there was so much he could be doing right now, and Ino was one of the last people he would consider spending time with. This was a complete waste of time, and yet…for some reason he couldn't force his legs to move.

Ino swallowed the candy piece and gently touched the crinkled paper surrounding the rest of the chocolate. Eyes downcast, she muttered, "I don't understand you, Sasuke." Red eyes narrowed once more. "They love you. They love you so much. And you love them, too. I know it." Sasuke clenched his fists. "Why? When you are with them, the three of you are happy. Why do you insist on pushing them away? Why can't you three be together again?"

Sasuke knew exactly who she was talking about, and he really did not want to be dragged into this conversation. "Itachi," he answered in a clipped, hateful tone at last.

Ino winced at the venom in his words. "It's always about your brother, isn't it, Sasuke_-kun_?" she glared at the spot in front of her as she sneered the honorific. "You're really selfish, you know?"

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, Sharingan beginning to spin again.

"Ooh, hit a nerve, didn't I?" Ino mocked hatefully. She was sick and tired of this.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke snarled. "You don't know anything about me!"

_Thump!_ Ino slammed her palms on the table and scowled into the other's eyes fearlessly. "No, you shut up, Sasuke Uchiha," she hissed. "You act all big and tough. 'I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Stay away from me if you know what's good for you.' You're the great avenger with the badass attitude everyone stupidly seems to adore. Well, let me tell you a little secret." She bent down until she could whisper in his ear. "You're not all that special. So what if you have a cool bloodline limit? It doesn't make you better than anyone else. It doesn't make you better than Naruto." She paused to let that sink in and then added, "It's no wonder your psychotic brother murdered the Uchihas. They were a bunch of stuck-up, arrogant fools. And yet Konoha thinks you're its little golden child. Well, you really showed them, huh?" They stood poised, Ino's hands on the table and face in Sasuke's as he glared vehemently at her.

Then, Sasuke smirked. "Are you done yet, Ino?" he scoffed. "You think you know everything. Well, let _me_ tell _you_ something. You're just a stupid, weak, little girl with her head in the sky, blinded by something she calls love." Ino started but quickly shifted her features into an angry frown. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been replaced on Team Seven, and Sakura and Naruto look perfectly fine without me around. I don't need them, and it seems they don't need me either. All they ever do is get in the way anyway, just like you."

_Slap!_ The sound seemed to echo through the establishment. Sasuke's head had snapped back and when he turned back to her, there was a faint red mark from the impression of her hand on his face and a tiny dribble of blood from his lips. "You have no idea how much they miss you," the blonde kunoichi's voice was stiff and pissed. "No one-and I mean no one-can ever fill the whole you left in their hearts." Ino closed her hand into a fist and stared at him expectantly. Her emotions were conflicting inside of her; she didn't know whether she was pleased at her valiant action or horrified that she had just hit her former crush. Sasuke just stared back dumbfounded. Of all things, he certainly had never expected Ino Yamanaka to have hit him. Sakura surely wouldn't have.

Slumping back in her seat, Ino withdrew into herself, massaging her arms as if she were cold. "You want to know what I think, Sasuke-kun?" she asked softly. "I think you're really just a scared little boy. Not of Orochimaru's cursed seal or Naruto getting stronger than you or anyone getting close to your heart. No. You're scared because deep down you know you really love Itachi. Love him so much it hurts, and you know you're not supposed to love him because he killed your family, but you can't help it. And you try to hate him. Really you do because you know you'll never be able to kill him if you don't have enough hate, but you just can't because he's your brother and you've already given your heart to him long ago. And you're afraid because you don't want anyone to find out you love him because then you can't do what he wants you to do and you've let him down. And there's nothing worse than letting down the one you love."

Sasuke said nothing. He wanted to scream at her to just be quiet because she had no idea what had happened between him and Itachi. He wanted to fling himself at her, shove a chidori into her heart and ask her how it felt to have one's heart crushed by a former comrade. He wanted to beat her and leave her for dead and race back to Orochimaru where he could be working on new techniques and not sitting here, listening to this drivel. Instead, he found himself gazing at Sakura's rival, the girl who had pined after his heart for so long. "And what about you, Ino?" he began finally. "Have you ever let down the one you love?"

"I wouldn't know," Ino replied sadly. "The one I love will never love me back. He doesn't have any room left for me." Her fingers moved forward and restlessly began to package up the rest of the candy. "And I know I should just forget about him, but I can't. Even if he hurt my teammates. Even if he tried to kill my friends. Even if he's breaking my heart." She delicately tied the red string. "Because that's the other side to love. You can't just stop. It's a double-edge sword, you know? It's a wonderful thing when you find it, but it always ends up hurting someone. And once you start, you can't quit. It's not that simple."

Sasuke sighed. He was never any good at this mushy stuff. Girls were so darn annoying, and he viewed them as a distraction in his training. Yet, even if he didn't like Ino and her words had struck a nerve (maybe because they were closer to the truth than he wanted), he had to admit she had a point. It was surprising. Of all the people he had met, it was Ino, the girl he had practically ignored as she virtually threw herself at him, that knew him best of all. "Look, Ino," he said. "I'm not coming back to Konoha. I'm sorry." Frowning, he wondered vaguely why he was apologizing. "And even if…I mean with you, Naruto, and Sakura…but I…it's not enough. You're right, but it isn't enough. I can't go back. I won't go back."

"So you'll just let Orochimaru take over your body?" Ino demanded dejectedly. "Because you're not strong enough, because you know you're going to fail, you're just giving up?"

"I never-I mean I," Sasuke retorted. "I'm not going to let that snake have my body."

"But you told Naruto…" Ino argued.

"I said a lot of things to Naruto I never meant," the Uchiha said and suddenly took a harsh intake of breath. He ignored Ino's cry of "Sasuke-kun!" as he tried to block out the pain. His Heaven seal was starting to burn. Orochimaru was calling him. Sasuke clenched his fists under the table and bit his lip. Damn it! Just how long had he been talking to Ino? "Look, I've gotta go. If Orochimaru found you here with me…" He let the sentence hang, leaving the rest to Ino's imagination.

The blonde kunoichi felt somewhat relieved at his words. They meant he cared enough about her to keep her away from the snake sannin. As Sasuke stood, she quickly snagged his wrist. Sasuke stumbled, momentarily stunned, as Ino stood as well and dragged the Uchiha to her, kissing him on the lips. The dark-haired avenger quickly drew away, but Ino held him tightly, blue eyes full of pleading. Their foreheads touching, he weighed his options and then seemed to decide to hell with it and kissed her back. The butterflies in Ino's stomach all took off in flight and she savored Sasuke's lips on her own. She knew that such a kiss was not a sign of his hidden feelings for her. Rather, it was an apology for never being able to love her the way she did with him, for all the could-have-beens and one-sided dreams. It was also a goodbye.

When Sasuke finally pulled away, he was ashamed at the bliss in her eyes. Quickly, the kunoichi twisted his hand around and plopped the gifted candy in it, closing his fingers around it. The dark-haired boy fell back, clutching the small package and looking at her thoughtfully. "I'm sorry," Ino apologized and then grinned. "How's that for a chocolate kiss? Looks like I beat Miss Forehead to it, huh?"

Sasuke smirked at her attempt to lighten the tense mood. "Yeah, well, don't go bragging it around. I've got a reputation to maintain. I bet there are still plenty of girls in the Leaf Village still plotting ways to steal my first kiss."

"Oh, please, Sasuke-kun," Ino replied, her smile growing. "Everyone knows your first kiss belonged to Naruto. Or have you forgotten?"

Even if it stung at her heart, she was amused by the pink on his cheeks. "_That_ was an accident and doesn't count," he grumbled. "Stupid dobe."

Ino laughed and was grateful it didn't come out sounding forced. She watched Sasuke wince again from the curse seal and said in a much more subdued tone, "You better go."

The boy in question nodded and slipped the candy into his weapons' pouch. He regarded her with serious obsidian eyes. "Stay safe. There are quite a few Sound ninja around here."

"You, too," Ino breathed. Pausing a moment, she added, "We're always waiting at home in case you change your mind." He just smirked and flicked his hand in a sign of farewell before disappearing faster than she could follow. She waited several moments, knowing she should go find where her teammates had wandered off to. Leaving the tavern, she began to walk down the road before stopping and swiftly turning around. Heart beating rapidly, Ino whispered to the emptiness, "I love you, Sasuke Uchiha."

She never saw him again...

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